English Idioms and Idiomatic Expressions 

Idioms: Law and Order-4
from: 'pervert the course of justice'   to:  'toe the line'

• pervert the course of justice
  • If a person perverts the course of justice, they tell a lie or prevent the police from finding out the truth about something.
    "The suspect was accused of trying to pervert the course of justice."
    
    
• poetic justice
  • Poetic justice is an ideal form of justice in which virtue is rewarded and evil punished, often in a particularly appropriate manner, by an ironic twist of fate.
    "It is poetic justice that the country responsible for the ecological disaster should suffer most from its effects."
    
    
• put one's house in order
  • If you tell someone to put their house in order, you are saying that they should organise their own affairs or take care of their own problems before giving advice to other people.
    "You should put your house in order before telling me what to do!"
    
    
• read someone the riot act
  • If you declare with force and authority that something must stop, and announce the consequences if it happens again, you read them the riot act.
    "Dad read us the riot act when we messed up his tool-shed."
    
    
• rough justice
  • Treatment or justice that does not seem fair, or is too severe, is called 'rough justice', especially if it is not legal.
    "The way the player was treated by the media was very rough justice!"
    
    
• bend the rules
  • If a person bends the rules, they alter the rules slightly, make an exception or allow something that is not usually allowed.
    "An hour is an hour" said the car park attendant who refused to bend the rules."
    
    
• seal of approval
  • If a project or contract receives a seal of approval, it receives formal support or approval from higher authorities.
    "We can't conclude the deal without the director's seal of approval."
    
    
• shady deal
  • A suspicious, dishonest or illegal arrangement or transaction is known as a shady deal.
    "The two sons were always involved in their father's shady deals."
    
    
• sharp practice
  • Trying to achieve something by using underhand, deceitful or dishonourable means, that are barely within the law, is called sharp practice.
    "That company is under investigation for sharp practice so it's better to avoid dealing with them."
    
    
• signed, sealed and delivered
  • When an agreement, contract or treaty is signed, sealed and delivered, all the legal documents are in order.
    "It is hoped that the agreement will be signed, sealed and delivered before the end of the week"
    
    
• siphon off
  • If someone siphons something off, they transfer something from one place to another, often illegally.
    "It was discovered that he had siphoned off money from the business into an account in a tax haven."
    
    
• smoking gun
  • A smoking gun is a piece of evidence or the indisputable sign of someone's guilt.
    "The fingerprints left on the door-handle was the smoking gun that enabled the police to arrest him."
    
    
• take the law into one's own hands
  • If, instead of calling the police, you personally take action against someone who has done something wrong, you take the law into your own hands.
    "Instead of calling the police, he took the law into his own hands and confronted the youth who had stolen his son's scooter."
    
    
• take the rap for something
  • If you take the rap for something, you accept blame or punishment for it, even if you have not done it.
    "The whole class had to take the rap for the disorder."
    
    
• toe the line
  • If someone toes the line, they obey the rules and accept the principles laid down by a person, group or organisation.
    "If you want to stay in this school, you'll have to learn to toe the line."
    
    
• under the microscope 
  • If someone is under the microscope, they are being closely observed or under intense scrutiny because their competence is in doubt or they are suspected of something.
    "After the managing director was convicted of corruption, the entire staff was put under the microscope.”